Vacuum cleaner



March 5, 1940. LEATHERS VACUUM CLEANER Filed Aug. 5, 1938 I VEN OR.

Patented Mar. 5, 1940 UNITED IX STATES PATENT orl-"iea VACUUM CLEANER Application August 5, 1938, Serial No. 223,261

2 Claims. (Cl. 183-58) My invention pertains to canister-type vacuum-cleaners, (that clean exclusively through a cleaning hose) and particularly to those having a verticalrather than a horizontal axis.

5 The object of my invention is to produce a lightweight, compact machine of small bulk, especially for domestic use, having therein a fixed filter, i. e., one that is not removed for emptying dirt from the machine, together with a convenient and practical means of shaking such filter for keeping its perviosity at 'a high state of eiflciency for filtering purposes.

Further objects will appear in the sub-joined specification and drawing, of which:

Figure 1 is a vertical elevation, partially crosssectioned, of my vacuum-cleaner showing filter and shaker-mechanism.

Figure 2 is a planview of a: portion of the shaker-mechanism.

go At the bottom of my vertical-axis, canistertype vacuum-cleaner i is disposed a dirt-receptacle 2 removable from the body of the machine along the horizontal line 3. P The dirt-receptacle is provided with a hose attachment. 4. The main body of the-machine comprises three zones. The

first zone comprises a shell 5 surrounding the' filter 6 :which is composed of two co-axial, conical sections 1 and 8, joined by a ring 9, preferably made of clock-spring. The filter may be joined to the ring in any desired manner as by sewing the fabric around it. The filter 6 is joined to the case 5 at its base In. The second zone comprises a shell I2 supporting therein a motor-blower-unit l3 by means of-rubber cushionsegments H or other suitable means. For more complete de-- scription of this arrangement and construction see my co-pending application for Letters Patent Serial No. 209,909 filed May 25, 1938. Above the motor-unit l3, within the casing l2, there is a chamber IS in which various accessories may be suitably disposed. These may consist of motor switch, strain-relief for electric cord inlet, an opening for joining a blower-hose, preferably of smaller diameter than the cleaning hose, or indicators of the cleaning efliciency of the machine,

such as set forth in my co-pending applications for Letters Patent Serial Nos. 218,646 filed July 11, 1-938 and 218,647 filed July 11, 1938. To the bottom of the casing of the motor-blower-unit I3 is attached a. wire cage 20 for holding the filter free from contact with the blower case and used for the support'of an inverted rubber mushroom 2| which holds the center of the filter in a free manner and in an approximately centralized location. A plurality, preferably two, of springs BEG 1 6 1941 25, having one end joined to the casing l2 and the other end joined to the filter ring 9, tend to hold the filter firmlyin the position shown. The third zone consists of an open top cap or dome 26 from which the exhaust air escapes upward 5 and the internal portion of which may be used for sound muiiler, auxiliary filter or other purposes. To the dome 26 is firmly joined a hollow die-cast handle-post 21 which supports-a freeend carrying-handle 28. A metal inner core 30 10 in the horizontal member of the carrying-handle is hinged to the post 27 at 3!. The core 39 is covered with rubber 32.- A push-rod 35 suitably socketed on the under side of the horizontal handle core 30 is joined at its lower end 37, in a 15 hingeable manner, to a bow 39. The bow is hingeably joined to the case Hat 4!]. The outer tips of the bow M are hingeably joined to push rods 42. The push rods 42 extend downward behorizontal handle bar 28 is pressed downward and 30 relased as many times as is required. When this handle is pressed downwardit depresses the bar 39 by means of the push rod 35 which in turn depresses the filter ring 9 by means of the con-.

necting rods 42, putting the filter in a loose posi- 35.

tion, as shown in dotted lines. When downward pressure on the handle is removed the filter is drawn upward to its taut position by the springs 25 and the handle 28 is raised to a horizontal position by the shaker-mechanism just described. 40

What I claimis: 1

1. In a vertical-axis canister-type suctioncleaner, a motor-suction-unit, a reentrant-coneshaped dust-separator with a ring-member joined to the fold thereof, resilient means joined to said ring-member for maintaining said dust-separator in normal'position, control means ass'ociated'with said resilient means for moving said support out of normal position, said means comprising a manually operable handle joined to a hinged bow, and 50 rigid tie members extending between the supporting ring-member and the tips of said bow, with said motor-suction-unit disposed between said tie members. v

2. In a vertica l -axis, canister-type suctionv cleaner, a main body portion comprising a dirtreceivlng-chamber at the bottom in communication with -a cleaning hose, a reentrant-conee shaped filtering-element disposed above and its normal operating position, a motor-suctionunit disposed above said element and partially 10 within the reentrant' portion thereof, a depressible handle joined to the top of said main portion, and means joined between said handle and said ring memberfor purposes of shaking the said filtering-element, said means comprising two rigid tie members extending vertically on opposite sides of the said motor-'unit joined together at the WARD LEATHERS. 

